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Title: Kilopower Project: The KRUSTY Fission Power Experiment and Potential Missions

Journal Article · · Nuclear Technology
ORCiD logo [1];  [1];  [2];  [2];  [3]
  1. Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
  2. NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, OH (United States)
  3. Y-12 National Security Complex, Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
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The Kilopower Project was initiated by NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate/Game Changing Development Program in fiscal year 2015 to demonstrate subsystem-level technology readiness of small space fission power in a relevant environment (Technology Readiness Level 5) for space science and human exploration power needs. The Kilopower Project centerpiece is the Kilowatt Reactor Using Stirling TechnologY (KRUSTY) test, which consists of the development and testing of a ground technology demonstrator of a 1-kW(electric)–class fission power system (FPS). The technologies to be developed and validated by KRUSTY are extensible to space FPSs from 1 to 10 kW(electric), which can enable modular surface FPSs for human exploration as well as higher-power future potential deep space science missions. The KRUSTY demonstration is cofunded by NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration. The KRUSTY demonstration in the National Critical Experiment Research Center’s Device Assembly Facility was completed in the first quarter of 2018.

Research Organization:
Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP)
Grant/Contract Number:
89233218CNA000001
OSTI ID:
1648084
Report Number(s):
LA-UR-19-28644; TRN: US2202896
Journal Information:
Nuclear Technology, Vol. 206, Issue sup1; ISSN 0029-5450
Publisher:
Taylor & FrancisCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 31 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (1)

NASA's Kilopower reactor development and the path to higher power missions conference March 2017

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Related Subjects

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP)
Integral Experiments
Space Reactor
Experimental Testing
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